Adventure of a Lifetime
by Sorceress Damia
Summary: Eddie McAllister and her family always believed Ben's stories of treasure. Before she left for college, she made him promise to include her if he ever found a lead. Five years later, that time has come...RileyOC ON HAITUS--MAJOR REWRITE IN PROGRESS.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Eddie.

Summary: Edith McAllister (otherwise known as Eddie), due to her beliefs, was the only person who ever really believed Ben's stories of treasure, save for her sister and stepmother. She has knowledge of the freemasons, and before she left for college, she made Ben promise that he would take her along when he did find it. Five years passed, and now that time has come…

* * *

"_Take this pink ribbon off my eyes, I'm exposed, and it's no big surprise, don't you think I know exactly where I stand, this world is forcing me to hold your hand_," came the sounds of the cell phone, buried somewhere under a pile of books. 

"Oh, no, not now!" the young woman whined under her breath as she balanced a stack of self-help, yoga, and spell books in her arms. In the background, the soft sounds of oldies came from a radio nestled in the corner of the New Age shop.

"_Cause I'm just a girl, little 'ol me, don't let me out of your sight, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite, so don't let me out of your sight_," the ring tone continued.

She groaned loudly, "Alright, already, I'm coming, I'm coming!" she growled as she started her way towards the phone, the stack of books still in her hands. She couldn't see the floor, so she didn't notice the gray tiger cat walking in her path until she nearly tripped over him. He meowed loudly.

"Shit, Loki! You nearly killed me!" she shouted, regaining her composure. The loud exclamation caused a baby near the counter to start wailing.

"_Oh, I've had it up to here_," came the very end of the ring tone as she picked up the phone with one hand as the other held up the stack of books shakily.

'Yeah, no kidding, huh?' she thought as she snapped, "Yes, hello?"

"If this is a bad time, I'll call later," A familiar voice said apologetically.

"Ben? Is that you?" she asked, stunned. She hadn't heard from Ben in a couple of years. Not since she started college.

"Don't sound _too_ happy to hear from me," he answered sarcastically. The baby continued to wail in the background and she could feel a headache coming on.

"I'm sorry, Ben, it's just been so long. How have you been?" she asked as she walked over to where the baby girl was in her carrier. She began to rock her with her foot, cooing, "Don't cry, Claudia, give Auntie Eddie a _big_ smile," under her breath as she scanned the titles of the books in her arms, the phone resting between her shoulder and ear.

"I've found the Charlotte," he said, and she could hear the excitement in his voice, although he sounded as if he was trying to remain calm.

"You did not," she said, her eyes wide. She nearly dropped the books she held.

"I'm telling the truth," he defended.

"Ben, for as long as I've known you, you've been trying to find Charlotte. Congratulations!" She said happily.

"How long has it been? Five years?" Ben asked.

She laughed. "I think so…_the_ Charlotte, huh? Does that mean that it's a…" she trailed off questioningly.

"She's a ship, yes. She's somewhere in the Artic, and I'm calling you to make good on my promise. A week from now, we're going to be heading up there to excavate her," he explained happily. She looked thoughtful for a minute before she spoke.

"Uh, not to be a downer or anything, but if you have to excavate her, won't that be expensive?" she asked. She didn't want to rain on his parade, but money made the world go 'round, after all.

"Don't worry, I've already thought of that. I found someone to back us financially. His name is Ian Howe, and he's coming along with us." Her eyes widened just a little more and she would have jumped up and down if not for the books in her arms.

"No _kidding_? Well, what's the plan?" she asked, excited. It was contagious. Ben was one more step to finding the greatest treasure the world has ever known, and she was going to be helping him, even if it was in a small way. Ancient history the whole world could see after thousands of years; it was all so amazing.

"We're meeting in Toronto, and from there Ian will cover all the expenses. I'm afraid you'll have to get to Toronto on your own. That won't be a problem, will it?" He asked.

"I don't think so," she answered.

"Okay. We're leaving from Toronto airport next Thursday at 3 in the afternoon. Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds fine. I'll see you there, Ben."

"You won't be late?" Ben pressed.

"I'll see you in Toronto, Ben," she growled.

"See you there, Eddie," he said as he hang up. She sighed, flipped the phone shut and squealed, putting the books in her arms in a pile on the floor. She ran over to the shop door and flipped the sign over that said, "Will be back by…"Then she ran back into the shop and grabbed Claudia who had calmed down. Eddie twirled the eight month old around in the air and kissed her on the cheek before running with the baby in her arms towards the back of the shop and up the stairs to the apartment on the second level.

"Mama, guess what?" she shouted, as she barged open the door to her stepmother's apartment.

"What, honey?" Mama asked from her seam stressing room. Eddie ran past the kitchen and dining room towards her voice. She stopped at the threshold.

"Mama, Ben found Charlotte! She's a ship in the Artic, and next Thursday, I'm going along with the excavation crew!" she squealed excitedly.

"Eddie, that's wonderful," Mama said brightly. Besides Eddie, her mom and sister were the only ones to believe Ben's stories of the treasure.

"I have to get ready!" she said breathlessly.

"Well hold on. When are you leaving?" Mama asked patiently.

"We're meeting up next Thursday in Toronto," she answered, jumpy.

"Then you have plenty of time to finish working before you pack," Mama said kindly, steering her in the direction of the stairs.

Eddie sighed heavily and pouted, but went down the stairs slowly with Claudia in her arms, who was pulling on her hair gently and gurgling. She set the baby back into her carrier and continued to finish putting the new shipment on the shelves.

That night she looked on the internet at airplane tickets, and she was not pleased. The lowest price for a ticket to Toronto was 700 dollars. Eddie kept the page up, and went to look in the safe. She sighed.

'I have 1000 dollars saved up here, plus whatever is in my bank account. I've saved up, but I still have nine years of college loans to pay off…my payday isn't for another two weeks, either...700 dollars. I still have to pay the bills, too…but if Ben finds the treasure…but what if he doesn't?' She thanked her lucky stars that she was on salary, at least.

"Dammit," she said harshly under my breath as she came to a decision.

'I guess I'm going on a roadtrip! Hopefully my junky, old Oldsmobile will be up for the journey. Hopefully the gas prices will be as low as they can get,' she thought, wished, prayed.

She grabbed her wallet and went to the corner-store down the street and bought several loaves of bread, lunch meats, condiments, and a bunch of munchies. When she got home, she made sandwiches galore, and put them in the fridge. She tore up her apartment searching until she found the old cooler. After preparing the food, she went to her room and packed her suitcase. Then she took a shower, meditated and settled in to sleep.

* * *

"Ben, where is this Eddie? We're running _late_," Ian Howe snapped impatiently. 

"Yeah, and I'm bored," Riley piped up.

Ben ignored him and answered, exasperated, "Eddie's always late. Just give it a few minutes." But a few more minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Eddie.

"Ben…" Ian trailed off. He was losing his patience, and so were his men.

"There's Eddie! See? The one that's running," Ben pointed, sighing in relief.

"Well, no wonder it took him so long. He must be four hundred pounds," Shaw scoffed, disgusted. He nodded his head towards a man who indeed looked as if he were four hundred pounds, running down the terminal with food in his beard and sweat stains on his shirt.

"What are you talking about? That's not Eddie!" Ben started to laugh.

The man took a left at another gate, and then the men saw her. She was no older than twenty-five, and she had been running out of view behind the large man. She was talking on a cell phone while running; she looked frantic, but she was still very pretty. She had wavy red hair that fell to the middle of her back held up in a loose ponytail and sparkling green eyes. Her attire consisted of jean shorts, a light blue tank top advertising The Doors, a jean jacket with pins and patches that advertised more bands, and flip-flops. A black messenger bag was slung over her shoulders.

She shuffled her feet and slowed down as she almost bowled over a middle-aged business man, but then she resumed her sprint. A look of anger crossed her face as she snapped something to the person on the other end before she flipped the phone closed and finally made it to the group.

"Ben! I'm _so_ sorry I'm late! I didn't mean to, really I didn't!" she apologized, her breath ragged and heavy. She bent over, placed her hands on her knees, and closed her eyes as she tried to regain her breath. "Whoo! _That_ was a _run_!" she cried, exhausted.

"It's no problem, Eddie, you can explain it all on the plane," Ben said, engulfing her in a hug. She closed her eyes and hugged him back weakly.

"Ben, this is Eddie?" Ian asked incredulously. His men and Riley looked shocked.

"Yes. Eddie, this is Ian Howe, Shaw, Shippen, Powell, and Riley Poole. Guys, this is Eddie McAllister," Ben introduced.

"_So_ glad to meet you," Shaw spoke out first, going to shake her hand. He looked relieved. Ben only snickered.

"What? What's so funny?" Eddie inquired suspiciously, still breathing heavily. She was trying to get her hand away from Shaw, who was shaking it vigorously and definitely not letting it go.

"Eddie, how many times have I told you, you need a new nickname?" he hinted and continued to laugh.

"Oh, no! You didn't think I was a boy, did you?" she wailed. Ben nodded and continued to laugh. Eddie looked mortified; her mouth was hanging open and she had an affronted look on her face.

"Does that happen to you…often?" Riley asked, staring.

"It's happened a few times," Eddie replied airily after she got over it. Ben continued to laugh.

"They thought you were _that _guy!" Ben cried, pointing to the fat man who was currently sprawled in a seat.

Eddie gasped, "Shut up! You did NOT!" She glared at Ben, daring him to pull her leg.

"Yes, they did," he laughed, hugging his sides. The men looked sheepish, and Eddie punched Ben's arm, willing him to shut up.

"Well, Eddie _is_ a boy's name, of course we'd confuse her for a boy," Riley rationalized, "Why do you call yourself Eddie, anyway?" he asked, confused.

Eddie sighed and rolled her eyes, "Because my real name is Edith. It's the worst name in the history of the English language, and I hate it. If you call me that, I'll kick your face in." She explained, glaring at all of them.

"Edith? It sounds like your parents are from the bible belt," he said with a raised eyebrow. Shaw, Shippen, and Powell looked at them weirdly.

"That's because they _were _from the bible belt," she replied dryly, "You can't expect me to go by Edith, can you? Ugh, what a name…" she muttered.

Ian cleared his throat and asked, "Well, shall we board now?"

"Of course," Ben said, wiping his eyes. Eddie pouted and mock-glared at him.

"Come on, Eddie, you can tell us why you're so late," Ben said pointedly, steering her towards the gate.

"What's the bible belt?" Shippen asked, confused. Riley sighed and began to explain it to Ian's three cronies, who, not being from the U.S or very intelligent, didn't know where the bible belt was.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys like it, please review and tell me what you think! 


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